When Zebrahead hit Denver in 1992 it was at the Denver Film Festival. When Precious came to Denver in 2009, it was with The Denver Film Festival. For 37 years the festival has found a way to make believers out of the power of film. This year, Movie Maker Magazine, ranked Denver as one of the 25 coolest film festivals in the world.
As the 37th Starz Denver Film Festival closes, the organization should really tally the financial results at the box office and look into the mirror. While Movie Maker might enjoy tacos at the ready to die Casa Bonita, the excitement found at many other festivals does not exist in Denver today. The energy, the industry connections, the talent are not mixing from the selections. Of course, this is also one of the most sports centric cities in the United States – citizens would rather talk football or baseball than the failings or gains made on say the fight against permanent poverty. (Yes, go see POVERTY INC to understand how handouts vs. valid commerce impact a community).
Colorado deserves better for the state’s capital city. The other state film festivals have been able to take it to the next level – Telluride comes to mind. Surely the leaders @denverfilm can up the game. It will be nice to know if more than 58,000 (or 8.9%) of the city’s metropolitan area population found their way into the seats this year compared to last year’s festival. FYI: Sports Authority Field capacity for 1 game – 76,125.
